lundi 12 mai 2014

Bridal season is very much here and I decided to create a "universal" makeup look to help you out on your big day ! If you're a makeup artist in the making, I hope that this will also help you. :)

I say "universal" classic beauty look because through the internet I can't advice you personally. I don't know your hair color, eye color, dress color,… and most importantly what you like and don't like.

A perfect bridal makeup needs to be extremely personal so you can feel unique. So feel free to take some tips and tricks, leave some and include some new ones !

Tips for the brides-to-be :

One thing I didn't mention in this video is how important skincare is ! Especially on your wedding day because this is going to be a long day ladies ! :)

Most people will tell you to sleep for a good 10 hours the night before, so you can look fresh on the big day... Reality ?! Most brides barely sleep because they are so stressed out ! lol

What you can do is to exfoliate your skin 2 to 3 nights before your wedding day and apply a moisturizing mask the night before so your skin is as smooth as possible. (ps : you can do the exact same thing to your body)

A good toner, moisturizer, under-eye cream and lip balm are your best friends. (a great MUA should have all that for you if you don't or forgot something)

With all that your skin will be ready for some make-up. :)

A wedding day is wonderful but it's a lot of pressure on your shoulders. Stressing out is not bad, it's normal ! Most brides will cry while they are getting ready because they are worried something won't be perfect. But you know what ? It's absolutely normal and I can assure you that everything will turn out to be just as perfect as you planned it to be. :)

If you plan on hiring a professional make-up artist it's VERY important to book her at least 3 weeks before your wedding day. You need a trial day before the actual wedding day, just for you to be reassured about everything that is going to happen on the big day. (2 weeks before is good) If you have allergies this is also very important.

And last but not least : please don't hire a $30 "instagram mua" to do your make-up. :( Hire a REAL professional make-up artist ! It's one of the biggest day of your life, if you can go fancy and the budget one day in your life, it's on that day !

I'm not saying that all make-up artists posting pictures on instagram are crap (some amazing mua are on there) but there are a lot of people who claim to be professional when they are just "make-up enthusiast" mixed with photoshop.

Tips for the make-up artist :

Same as for the bride-to-be you're gonna be doing the make-up on, you are also going to be stressed out ! If everybody around is, you'll be too ! Keep in my mind that you are the professional here and you are the one taking responsibility on how the make-up will look at the end.

Do not take anything bad a bride could say to you ! It is absolutely NOT personal. They are extremely stressed out and will sometimes need to de-stress and they'll do that on the first person who's next to them. So it can happen to be you !

Be nice and reassure her about what's happening. And don't ever (if it's your case) talk about how wonderful your own wedding was. She's the bride, she's the one who wants to be special !

And if the bride is a real pain, just try to keep it together until the end and think about how much you're getting paid. lol (It's very rare but some people are just natural a**holes and there is nothing you can do about it.)

If you are getting paid "nicely" brides love to have a little gift from their make-up artist. Usually the mascara you used or the lipstick. They will have it in their bag and use it daily and it will remind them of their wedding day, believe me it's A LOT appreciated. :)

lundi 28 avril 2014

Dior is the very first high-end luxury brand I bought products from... and it was the summer of my 18th birthday. Almost 8 years ago now. I remember buying one of their eye shadow palette (purple and prune eye shadows), a lipstick (pink) and a blush (pink again). Since that day I've been a fan of the brand...

I can't even tell you how excited I was when I saw that this collection was available the very same day I went shopping. I had no idea it would be available that day which made this collection even more awesome to look at (and to buy some...)

I saw previews of the collection months ago and I was so impatient to be able to look, swatch and buy those gorgeous products.

What Dior says about this Summer 2014 Collection :

"On the bridge of an ocean liner blows the wind of liberty. Dior renews ties with the world of the great transatlantic crossings, inspired by the travel spirit of its first Resort and Spring line in 1948. The 2014 Summer Look unveils a cruise make-up collection : a palette of navy blue, primary red and sandy beige."

Now let's talk about the actual products this gorgeous collection has.

Like Dior says this is their first summery primer. It's supposed to give you that instant healthy tan looking skin base. After one week of application you should see a subtle natural looking coloring.

I unfortunately couldn't buy this product - that looked quite interesting to me. I am quite pale and matter of fact, I can't actually wear Dior foundations at all because they are always too dark for me. Even blended out this primer looked very unnatural on my skin.

However I would say that this is still a very nice product if you are looking for a progressive self-taning product, as well as a summery healthy looking face primer. You just need to have a darker complexion than me - which is very easy to have.

I swatched it and it blended out super nicely onto your skin and was extremely light weight.

The packaging is really nice and like their BB Cream, I like the pump system.

-----

The Diorksin Nude Shimmer.

2 shades are available : 001 Rose and 002 Ambre.

(54€ each)

These should give you a soft and fresh color on your cheeks. Like their name says, they are shimmery powders that capture the light and give you that summery glow. They also come with a small kabuki brush.

I didn't get any of the two just because I wasn't interested into them. Don't get me wrong they are very pretty products but I like my blush to be very pigmented. These won't give you an intense color, so if - like me - it's what you like : don't buy them.

They are a wash of color kind of powders. The lightest shade is definitely pink and the other one is like a super cheer light bronzing color. Both can be used as very soft blush, highlight or even bronzer depending on your skin tone.

That being said the packaging is absolutely gorgeous ! I mean look at that powder's pattern...

-----

Diorskin Nude Tan Transat Edition.

Comes in one shade : 001

(57€*)

This is supposed to be a shimmery golden highlight powder that can be used on your face, décolleté and even shoulders. This powder also comes with a small kabuki brush.

This is obviously a light gold highlight powder... and what a fantastic highlight it is indeed !!! This is the first product that I saw at the counter. I knew I had to have it ! It is so gorgeous !

This is perfect if you have a fair to medium skin tone. I can't say if - like Albatros by NARS - this could be a universal highlight powder that would also suit darker skin tones. I haven't tried on someone with dark skin so I'm not going to say something I really have no idea about. You'll probably have to try it on your own.

The packaging is the same as the Diorskin Nude Shimmer. And by the way I forgot to mention it but the closure is magnetic ! I already used it twice and this is definitely going to be my go to highlight powder for now.

Here is a swatch for you ! :)

-----

5 Couleurs Transat Edition.

2 palettes are available : 344 Atlantique and 564 Sundeck.

(57,50€ each*)

These palettes speak for themselves. One is cool toned and the other one warm toned. To me one represents the Sea (water, bright blue sky) through different tones of blue colors, the other one represents the Sun (sand, wood of a sundeck) through warmer tones of beige and orange colors.

The rigging of the middle eye shadow is beautiful and really complete the look of these palette.

I didn't get any of them but I almost bought the blue toned one. I just have so many blue eye shadows already that I told myself that it wasn't worth it. Also as a make-up artist these kind of palettes are kind of useless because you never take them with you on a make-up job.

-----

Diorshow Mono Transat Edition.

2 different colors : 261 Cabine and 541 Pavillon.

(35€ each*)

These are described as an ultramarine blue color and a sunny coral color. Can be worn for a beach day or for a night out in the city.

The Cabine color is definitely not an ultramarine blue color as you can see on the picture above. It's much more a of soft dark blue color that has a slight sheen to it. The Pavillon color is a nice coral color that does have some sunny gold undertone to it.

I wasn't interested about those specific colors (which once again I have many that are very similar).

The packaging is as always nice especially with the rigging pattern.

-----

Dioshow Iconic Overcurl Wtaerproof.

351 Bleu croisière.

(33,50€*)

The Diorshow Iconic Overcurl is the last mascara created by Dior. Its curved look should allow your lashes to be curled and be "stretched" to the limit.

I, once again , didn't care for this mascara. I know that this color will never look the same on the lashes as it looks on the promo picture.

-----

Diorshow Art Pen.

385 Bleu croisière.

(36€*)

The texture should be "gel-like" and should allow you to make the perfect winged out eye liner. It should also be very easy to remove with either warm water or make-up remover.

I did bought it because the color looked beautiful swatched on the back of my hand. But I have to say, I regret getting it because it might look great on the hand, however it's a lot different on the lids ! It's not pigmented and opaque enough. Adding to that it's a felt tip applicator and I hate those type of applicators... I have no idea why I bought it to be honest. I might have to work with a it a bit more before I make my final thought about it, but so far... 36€ wasted.

This is not a "gel-like" texture and once it's one it's on ! You absolutely can't remove it with warm water ! No way, Jose ! lol You need to use a make-up remover which thinking about it is not bad at all because at least it stays on.

Here is a swatch at the back of my hand, like this it's looks beautiful ! But on the eyes...

-----

Manucure Transat.

Comes in 3 colors : 750 Captain, 700 Sailor and 210 Yacht.

(30€ each*)

OMG... Those are AMAZING !!! I got the blue one 750 Captain and it's the best nail polish I've ever tried. It's completely opaque with only one coat on and has a gorgeous shiny finish to it. It dries quite fast too. They come with Christian Dior stickers that you can apply on top of the polish once it's completely dry. I tried applying them but it failed... lol

Dior has very recently changed the formula of their nail polishes and I have to say that it's a win. I'm currently wearing it while writing this review and I've had it on for 4 days. It's still perfect.

These lipstick are supposed to have a quite cheer consistency with a high shine and should be moisturizing on the lips. They are the perfect go-to lip product for a hot summer day.

I got the lightest shade in 211 Sunlight, at first I didn't think I'd get one of these because I don't like sheer lipstick at all. I'm a matte creamy opaque lipstick kind of gal. Ya know. :)

But an idea jumped into my mind and I asked myself if that specific light color could be used as a... highlight. Yes highlight on the cheeks and even for a cheer glossy effect on the lids. That was totally a make-up artist thought ! lol And guess what ? It works ! Looks great as a highlight on the cheeks and it happens to look fantastic on the lips.

It's is sooo moisturizing it's just so comfy to wear. It's a beautiful golden color with super fine sparkly things in it. :) I do believe the other shades don't have those sparkly thingies but they must be as moisturizing as Sunlight which make them perfect for this summer.

-----

Dior Addict Gloss - Limited Edition Summer 2014.

2 shades available : 412 Offshore and 642 Seafarer.

(30,50€ each*)

These should feel light weight on the lips and non sticky. 3 different formulas are available on the Dior Addict Gloss line : the high shine, lacquer finish and "pure" finish.

412 Offshore is definitely on the high shine side, it's a gorgeous gold color. 642 Seafarer is a beautiful red with lots of warm undertones to it, it has a lacquer finish but is quite opaque too.

I however didn't get any of these for whatever reason. lol

-----

Dior Addict Lip Maximizer - Limited Edition Summer 2014.

005 Fresh pink.

(36€*)

I choose not to talk about that product because it is honestly not that interesting at all to me. 36 for that... no thanks.

----------

So here it is ! This is the entire Dior Summer 2014 Transat Make-up Collection.

I do think this is a gorgeous collection that you should definitely check out as soon as you can !

Some of those products are really worth buying (nail polishes are a must have) and very few are not that interesting (to my opinion of course).

Dior really did a beautiful collection for this summer and I can't wait to see the Fall 2014 Collection (impatient... I know).

I hope that you guys enjoyed this review and please let me know if you got one of these products !

Tell me your thoughts about that collection and if you plan on buying anything if you haven't already.

jeudi 24 avril 2014

Here's a makeup look inspired by a summer-y sunset. Nothing crazy just me doing a smoky eye... You know how much I love my smoky eyes by now. :) I used mainly drugstore eye shadows to create that look, dupes can be found quite easily. (most of those products are only available in France - I included some dupes at the end)